Ireland v Belgium Betting Tips [26 March 2022]
Football - International Friendlies
26 March 2022 13:00
The match
Belgium head to Dublin to take on Ireland in a friendly match as the Red Devils look to tune up in anticipation for the 2022 World Cup. The visiting Belgium booked their tickets to Qatar by way of a first place finish in qualifying group, finishing on a 6-2-0 record and five points clear of second place Wales. Ireland, on the other hand, will have to watch the festivities from home after a third place finish in group B sees them miss out. It was always going to be tough for the Irish as Portugal and Serbia ultimately had little resistance in securing a first and second place finish, respectively. Ireland are coming off a 3-0 away win to Luxembourg in their final qualifying match while Belgium are coming off a 1-1 draw to wrap up their group.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup, Ireland have been in a fantastic vein of form recently. The Boys in Green have now won three of their last four and have gone six matches without defeat. Stephen Kenny’s side have shown strong resilience at home, holding the much stronger Portugal and Serbia to draws and convincingly thrashing a rapidly-improving Qatar side 4-0. Roberto Martinez is expected to heavily rotate his team as regular stars such as Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were given time off. Still, Belgium possess incredible depth and even their second choice 11 should have enough to get past this Ireland team. Belgium have been one of the world’s most potent attacking sides for a while and it has been nearly four years since they were kept off the scoresheet after a 1-0 defeat to France in the 2018 World Cup. It would be a surprise if they were unable to find the net here even with a new look team expected to take the field.
Key Statistics
- Ireland have scored in six of their last seven and have kept four straight clean sheets including a 0-0 draw against Portugal.
- Belgium’s defense has been leaking goals recently and has conceded in four straight matches.
- Belgium have found the net in 42 consecutive matches.
The bet of our experts
This is a match that shapes up well for goals and there are a couple of ways to attack this one. Ireland should fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet with their hot scoring form and the visitors recent defensive woes while Belgium’s scoring record speaks for itself. Both teams to score or the over 2.5 are both certainly viable but we’re going to back both teams to score as our selection for this match. While the Red Devils are certainly capable of scoring three and single-handedly covering the goals total, they are currently on a run of three straight away games only netting once. Ultimately though, Belgium should be able to get this one done so a sprinkle on both teams to score and Belgium to win at 3/1 also presents some excellent value.
